16-year-old son shoots man choking his mom, then she calls 911, TN cops say
A 16-year-old is accused of shooting a man who was choking his mother during an argument, Tennessee police said.
Officers responded to the shooting at about 10 p.m. April 23 at a home in Memphis, where they found the man with a gunshot wound, police said in a news release. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The teen’s mother told police her son shot the man — with whom she shares another child — to protect her as he has a “history of assaulting her.” The man has an active warrant for domestic assault for an incident involving her, police said, adding that they could see “red bruises” on the woman’s neck.
The woman was at the man’s house delivering food, but the two began arguing “because she had called someone with a private number,” according to police.
During the argument, the woman called her son, and the man started choking her while they were on the phone, police said.
The teen ran to the house where his mom was, picked up a gun that fell off her waistband and tried to leave with her, the woman told police. The man approached them again outside the home, and the teen fired the gun before running off, she said.
Police said they were not able to speak to the victim at the time because of his injuries.
While at the man’s house, the woman called her son and put the conversation on speaker, said police, who heard the teen say he shot the man “because he assaulted his mother.”
Detectives tried to arrest the teen but did not find him, police said. He was later detained when he returned to the home and released, WREG reported.
No charges were listed in the release. The investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 6:26 PM with the headline "16-year-old son shoots man choking his mom, then she calls 911, TN cops say."
